Reviews: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Sat, 1 Apr 2000, 12:21 pmWalter Plinge8 posts in thread
Reviews: Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Sat, 1 Apr 2000, 12:21 pmThe 14th Melbourne International Comedy Festival has begun, and Stage Left has just posted 6 reviews at stageleft (with more to come). Here are some extracts:
ADAM BLOOM (UK): "In between his tumbling conversations and jokes about train etiquette, childhood and religion, his mind loops off on complicated and extreme 'what if' scenarios. You can see the hyperactive child he used to be."
COOL HEAT, URBAN BEAT (USA): "Cool Heat is far from dry. It's a vibrant pastiche of street and club dance spanning most of the twentieth century, and herein lies its greatest wit."
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE (UK): "Unfortunately, all three of my signals were flashing like mad for Boothby Graffoe's act on the second night of the Comedy Festival. Which is a shame, because he's actually pretty funny."
STEWART LEE (UK): "His material addresses some disparate themes. He talks us through the brilliant retorts we should have made but actually think of hours later... in his case it always ends with misunderstandings and the police becoming involved."
DAVE O'NEIL (Australia): "So Dave grew up in the 80s, stashed away the memories of school, the dole and the pub so he can make a living today taking the piss out of it all for the newer generation. He must have travelled a fair bit in that time (on his BMX, at least) because he promises he will trash every suburb in the course of the evening."
TOM RHODES (USA): "For some reason Tom Rhodes reminds me of an old-style revivalist preacher, pacing the stage with powerful American accent and microphone in hand. His lively irreverent delivery borders on the offensive, a kind of South Park approach to stand-up."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
ADAM BLOOM (UK): "In between his tumbling conversations and jokes about train etiquette, childhood and religion, his mind loops off on complicated and extreme 'what if' scenarios. You can see the hyperactive child he used to be."
COOL HEAT, URBAN BEAT (USA): "Cool Heat is far from dry. It's a vibrant pastiche of street and club dance spanning most of the twentieth century, and herein lies its greatest wit."
BOOTHBY GRAFFOE (UK): "Unfortunately, all three of my signals were flashing like mad for Boothby Graffoe's act on the second night of the Comedy Festival. Which is a shame, because he's actually pretty funny."
STEWART LEE (UK): "His material addresses some disparate themes. He talks us through the brilliant retorts we should have made but actually think of hours later... in his case it always ends with misunderstandings and the police becoming involved."
DAVE O'NEIL (Australia): "So Dave grew up in the 80s, stashed away the memories of school, the dole and the pub so he can make a living today taking the piss out of it all for the newer generation. He must have travelled a fair bit in that time (on his BMX, at least) because he promises he will trash every suburb in the course of the evening."
TOM RHODES (USA): "For some reason Tom Rhodes reminds me of an old-style revivalist preacher, pacing the stage with powerful American accent and microphone in hand. His lively irreverent delivery borders on the offensive, a kind of South Park approach to stand-up."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
RE: Reviews Batch #5: Comedy Festival
Sun, 9 Apr 2000, 11:23 amWalter Plinge
Stage Left has just posted a feature article and 5 more reviews from the Melbourne International Comedy Festival at . Enjoy!
FEATURE: "Comedy Vox Pop", a selection of comments from the comedy-goer on the street at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It's a chance for the everyday punter to voice an opinion.
And here are some extracts from our new reviews:
BORN THREE: "A lot of the spoken jokes are straight from the 'How to write Comedy' manual: pick a silly topic, mention it out of context and give it a twist. But there are moments when the collective instrument is finely tuned, often through the use of good old parody."
MONICA DOLLARD: "Given that Dollard is dismantling the myths surrounding Mother Teresa's purity, her approach has the potential to be deeply offensive; but Dollard is so much the nice-lady-next-door that she gets away with it."
BOB DOWNE: "This is a key to Bob's shows. He takes elements of the 1970s which we all remember as innocent and fun-loving, then adds a undercurrent of cynicism and sordidness. He does to the 70s what Dame Edna Everage does to the 1950s, and is spectacularly successful at it."
PETER HELLIAR: "He makes a big play of struggling with his material. He starts a routine, then admits he has no idea where it's going. It can be hilarious, but by the end of the set it's apparent that his lapses are quite orchestrated."
SEX, LIES & GAFFER TAPE: "It sounds a bit kinky, but it's actually pretty likeable. Cassy and Violet are energetically played, though Violet's breathy air of near-panic gets wearing after a while. The soapie scenes are easily the best part of the play, with the actors catching the overdramatic ludicrousness of daytime soaps perfectly."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left
FEATURE: "Comedy Vox Pop", a selection of comments from the comedy-goer on the street at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. It's a chance for the everyday punter to voice an opinion.
And here are some extracts from our new reviews:
BORN THREE: "A lot of the spoken jokes are straight from the 'How to write Comedy' manual: pick a silly topic, mention it out of context and give it a twist. But there are moments when the collective instrument is finely tuned, often through the use of good old parody."
MONICA DOLLARD: "Given that Dollard is dismantling the myths surrounding Mother Teresa's purity, her approach has the potential to be deeply offensive; but Dollard is so much the nice-lady-next-door that she gets away with it."
BOB DOWNE: "This is a key to Bob's shows. He takes elements of the 1970s which we all remember as innocent and fun-loving, then adds a undercurrent of cynicism and sordidness. He does to the 70s what Dame Edna Everage does to the 1950s, and is spectacularly successful at it."
PETER HELLIAR: "He makes a big play of struggling with his material. He starts a routine, then admits he has no idea where it's going. It can be hilarious, but by the end of the set it's apparent that his lapses are quite orchestrated."
SEX, LIES & GAFFER TAPE: "It sounds a bit kinky, but it's actually pretty likeable. Cassy and Violet are energetically played, though Violet's breathy air of near-panic gets wearing after a while. The soapie scenes are easily the best part of the play, with the actors catching the overdramatic ludicrousness of daytime soaps perfectly."
For the full reviews, visit our site:
Tim Richards
Editor
Stage Left